This invention relates generally to a paper dispenser of the type in which a tubular roll of paper is supported in an upright position in a wall-mounted container having an opening in the bottom wall thereof. The leading or free end portion of the paper is threaded through a dispensing funnel fixed within the opening and extending downwardly from the bottom wall of the container.
Dispensing of the paper is effected by pulling downwardly on the free end portion of the paper to cause the paper to unwind from the inner diameter of the roll and to advance downwardly through the funnel. The paper usually is perforated at spaced increments along its length and, as the paper is pulled downwardly, the funnel causes a wiper or towel of predetermined length to be torn away from the remainder of paper on the roll. A short length of paper (i.e., a "tail") is left exposed beneath the funnel and may be pulled to effect dispensing of the next wiper.
With presently existing funnels, difficulty is encountered in dispensing paper of different thicknesses. If the dispensing port of the funnel is sized to accommodate relatively light paper, thicker paper tends to bunch in the funnel and does not flow easily out of the funnel when pulled. If the funnel is designed with a larger dispensing port for thick paper, lighter paper flows from the funnel with such little resistance that tearing of the paper into individual wipers is not reliably achieved.
Conventional funnels also do not lend themselves to use with dispensers which are mounted at widely varying heights on the wall. A funnel which is designed for use with a dispenser mounted relatively high on the wall does not function well with a low-mounted dispenser and, conversely, a funnel for a low-mounted dispenser is not adaptable to a high-mounted dispenser. Conventional funnels also are not readily installable in dispensing containers having differently sized openings in their bottom walls or having bottom walls of different thicknesses or materials.